The Metamorphosis: And Other Stories

Written by Franz Kafka

Narrated by George Guidall

In the bizarre world of Franz Kafka, salesmen turn into giant bugs, apes give lectures at college academies, and nightmares probe the mysteries of modern humanity's unhappiness. More than any other modern writer in world literature, Kafka captures the loneliness and misery that fill the lives of 20th-century humanity. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories reveals the author's extraordinary talent in a variety of forms-prose poems, short stories, sketches, allegories, and novelettes-and showcases the straight-faced humor, startling psychological insight, and haunting imagination for which he is revered as a modern master. In this brilliant new translation, prize-winning translator Joachim Neugroschel preserves the delicate balance, rich timbre, and wondrous language of Kafka's original works. In addition to The Metamorphosis, this collection includes Early Stories, Contemplation, The Judgement, The Stoker, In the Penal Colony, and A Country Doctor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 28, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456124106

Franz Kafka

Born in Prague in 1883, the son of a self-made Jewish merchant, Franz Kafka trained as a lawyer and worked in insurance. He published little during his lifetime and lived his life in relative obscurity. He was forced to retire from work in 1917 after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, a debilitating illness which dogged his final years. When he died in 1924 he bequeathed the – mainly unfinished – manuscripts of his novels, stories, letters and diaries to his friend the writer Max Brod with the strict instruction that they should be destroyed. Brod ignored Kafka’s wishes and organised the publication of his work, including The Trial, which appeared in 1925. It is through Brod’s efforts that Kafka is now regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century.

Reviews for The Metamorphosis

[aeyan_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Striving to understand the frequent usage of 'Kafkaesque' to describe a proliferation of things literary, I found a nice bargain copy of this translation of Kafka many moons past. I'm unsure if I accomplished my goal, being left wondering if I need to read 'The Trial' to solidify that understanding, yet having no desire to engage anymore with his works. This collection of stories left me repulsed ('The Metamorphosis'), disgusted ('In the Penal Colony'), irritated ('The Stoker'), or bored (all inclusive). I used the experience as a stylistic exercise, but even that failed to render the stories any more approachable for me. Taking a month to finally finish, the slow progress was a source of frustration, and the more frustrating thought is that Kafka would have probably found that entirely too funny.

[geraldlange · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The man is nuts. This is not to say that I don't approve; but, man-oh-man.....his conversations read as drunken insanity that is only barely functional, and that on a good day!

[soylentgreen23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm glad I read Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis," about Gregor Samsa, because now I understand the joke in "The Producers" that references it so much better. Don't you just like pop cultural references in film and TV? Of course you do - look at how successful the Simpsons et al are.

[auntieclio · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Kafka is weird. There, I said it. And I usually like weird, but I'm still not quite sure what to think of Kafka. In a discussion with a friend about themes, it became a bit easier to read. I didn't have problems with the bug, or the killing device as much as I did with the characters' reactions.When I mentioned that the ending in "The Judgement" felt kinda clunky, my friend said, "That's the thing about Kafka. He gets a free pass because he's Kafka. The ending is clunky, but because he's Kafka, people wonder if they're missing something."Note to self: Kafka is not god, his work is not perfect. (Weird, but not perfect.)In "The Metamorphosis," one of the themes is being worthwhile. This poor man works hard to support his family, but in return, they and the bureaucrats he works for believe him to be nothing more than a "bug." And all anyone can do is be horrified that he can no longer work and treat him even more poorly."In The Penal Colony" was horrifying. Not because of the actual killing device, but is pretty horrific on its own, but for the attitude of The Officer toward crime and punishment. 30 years later, George Orwell published Nineteen Eighty-Four. The extreme belief that anyone showing any humanity towards others is weak, haunts us every day. On a light note, if there is one, I kept hearing Sylvester Stallone in "Judge Dredd" saying, "I AM the law" whenever The Officer spoke about how The Condemned had come to be condemned. It's a pretty damning statement against government (being published the year after WWI ended), dictatorships and those who stand by and do nothing.As for "The Country Doctor" and "A Report to the Academy," well, those were more of the same weirdness.In sum, I'm not sorry I read this. Not sorry, but not necessarily glad. I can now say I've read Kafka and understand what the meaning of the word "Kafkaesque" is. I don't need to read any more.

[bderby_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. The theme of personal transformation is clear and the items which are obvious metaphors (e.g. Samsa being an insect, the apple lodged in his back), will allow students to explore what their intended meaning could have been.This book also includes "The Judgement," "In the Penal Colony," "A Country Doctor," and "A Report to an Academy."

[tyroeternal · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Metamorphosis was required reading for me in school, and I have since re-visited it a few times. Short, powerful, and well worth anyone's time.

[jolee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love "The Metamorphosis" and have read it several times. I know some people probably think I'm crazy. (My friend, Natalie, said she could never get over the giant bug thing.) Personally, I love the weirdness of the Modernist period.